Healthy Toddler Zucchini Muffins

Toddler approved healthy zucchini muffins with chocolate chips.

Zucchini is one of my favorite summer veggies and these zucchini muffins are so delicious, soft, moist and easy to make. They are a staple in our household during summers. 

I love zucchinis and I make all sort of recipes like pasta, curries, bread and stir fries all the time with them. They are so versatile and can be added to a lot of dishes.

But I always have a tough time getting my youngest to eat zucchinis. He has a problem with the texture of the zucchini when it’s soft. And he finds it hard to eat when they are a little firm. So I grate them and add it to dishes like fritters, muffins, bread and he has no idea he’s eating zucchinis!

These muffins have an amazing texture. They are soft, moist, not overly sweet and loaded with freshly grated zucchinis and some chocolate chips to make it even more yummy.

My youngest always picks out the chocolate chips first. The muffins get broken into pieces while he does some sort of scavenger hunt searching for the chocolate chips. When he is satisfied, he got them all out, he will start eating the muffins.  I don’t care what he does as long as he eats them. But the addition of chocolate chips makes the experience fun for him!

These zucchini muffins are incredible as a breakfast. They are also perfect to pack in your kids snack/ lunch box. Now that school is opening, I know I will be making them often as both my kids love it.

Looking for more baby or toddler friendly zucchini recipes? Try these zucchini fritters. 

Why should you make these zucchini muffins?

These muffins are healthy. They are made with white whole wheat flour as compared to all purpose flour. 

White whole wheat flour is made with whole grain white wheat berries which tend to have a milder flavor. Since they are whole grain, they are just as healthy as whole wheat flour and contain fiber, protein and other essential nutrients. They are great substitutes to all purpose flour as they taste great like all-purpose flour but contain the health benefits contained in whole wheat flour.

 I always prefer homemade baked goods to store bought ones as we have the option to control what ingredients goes inside the recipe. When you bake at home, you can choose to use natural sweeteners, add more veggies and avoid preservatives and unnecessary ingredients. So, I would say these homemade zucchini muffins are definitely healthy.

I use maple syrup or honey as sweeteners in the recipe. I buy organic zucchinis if possible and choose healthier flours to make it kid friendly.

Zucchinis or courgettes are rich in several vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds. They are a good source of vitamin A, antioxidants, soluble and insoluble fiber.

So if you have a hard time making your kids eat zucchinis, this muffin is a fantastic recipe to try.

These zucchini muffins are –

• Easy to bake
• Moist, soft and has the perfect texture
• Packs well in lunch boxes
• Healthy and delicious
• Perfect grab and go breakfast/ snack
• Loaded with veggies.
• Can be made ahead
• Freezes well.

How to make these zucchini muffins-

These muffins are really easy to make. First, we will grate some fresh zucchinis. I like to use my grater for this. But you could also do it in a food processor. It’s a lot easier and faster.

Once you grate the zucchinis, squeeze out the excess water from them and set it aside. Zucchini is rich in water. So, it’s important to remove the excess water so the batter is of the right consistency.

Next, we will combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl. We use buttermilk in this recipe. If you do not have butter milk, you can mix milk with 2 tsp of vinegar and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. You will see the milk will curdle after 5 minutes. Now they are ready to use in place of buttermilk.

When the wet ingredients are ready, mix the dry ingredients like flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

Then you need to mix the dry and wet ingredients together, add your grated zucchinis and Choco chips to the batter and bake!

I like to use a nonstick muffin pan for this recipe. But you can also use silicon molds or normal muffin pans sprayed with some kind of nonstick spray.

Add ons to this recipe:

• Spices like pumpkin spice, all spice, turmeric, cardamom etc
• Raisins
• Hemp seeds
• Chia seeds

Substitutions for the ingredients mentioned in the recipe:

While whole wheat flour – can use all purpose flour or whole wheat flour.

Eggs – Can be substituted with flax eggs. But I have not tested the recipe with flax eggs.

Olive oil- can use any neutral tasting oil or coconut oil in its place

Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk or can’t use dairy, you can take any kind of milk ( cow’s milk or dairy free milk options), Mix some vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for 10 minutes. Once it curdles, you can use it in the recipe.

Maple syrup – Honey, agave or coconut sugar are good substitutes

How can I make this recipe vegan?

To make a vegan version, simple use vegan buttermilk substitute as mentioned above and maple syrup instead of honey.

How can I make this gluten free?

You can use gluten free flour in the recipe.

Now let’s see how to make these delicious zucchini muffins!

Toddler Zucchini Muffins Recipe:

Makes – about 12 miffins

Prep time – 10 minutes

Cook time – 15 minutes

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 and ¾ cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda

Method:

1. Pre heat your oven to 400 F
2. Grease your muffin pan with non stick spray or butter.
3. Grate the zucchinis and squeeze out the excess water. Set the grated zucchini aside.
4. In a mixing bowl, add the oil, maple syrup, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract and mix well until everything is well combined.
5. Take another mixing bowl and add the white whole wheat flour, spice powders, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mix well.
6. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients slowly and mix until just combined.
7. Add the grated zucchinis to the batter and mix gently. Next add the chocolate chips and mix again. Make sure you do not over mix the batter.
8. Pour the batter evenly into the muffin so they are 3/4^th full.
9. Bake the muffins for 16 to 18 minutes until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean and the muffins look golden.
10. Remove the muffin pan and let them cool for at least 10 minutes before you try to remove them from the pan.
11. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for 3 to 4 months.

 

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